Body ID'd as missing college student

RENO, Nev., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A body found in Reno, Nev., was identified Saturday as that of Brianna Denison, a University of Nevada student abducted almost a month ago.

Reno police said Denison, 19, may have been the victim of a serial rapist responsible for two or three sexual assaults in the area, the Reno Gazette Journal reported.

Denison, who lived in Reno, was taken from a friend's house near the campus Jan. 20. An employee at a business in the area spotted the body Friday about 100 feet from a road in a field in southeast Reno. Police said snow covering the field melted this week.

Denison's aunt told the newspaper she believed from the moment she heard about the discovery that the body was that of her niece. Lauren Denison appealed to the public to help find the killer.

"I still strongly feel that you have to look at your husband, boyfriend, brother, nephews, cousins and sons," she said. "I still believe someone knows this guy. Be honest. Don't let this happen to anyone else again."